Josie

2.5yo spayed female, 82 lbs

Josie is a beautiful 2 year old female Golden Retriever. She has been in one home since she was 8 weeks old and is now in her GRRCC foster home.  She is housetrained and sleeps happily in her crate at night. She has lived with another golden and does great but does not necessarily need another dog. Josie is happy to snuggle up for petting and will happily get into your lap if allowed.  But she also has the energy of a two year old golden puppy, all 80 lbs of her. She is a big girl, and she needs engagement and training.  She loves to play with another dog or person. She wants to please her people and be with them. Josie needs an active home where she has purpose and can be a responsible family member.  She is a typical golden but needs lots of activity, is interested in everything, and wants to please. She is not aggressive in any way.  She can be skittish but is not shy.

Josie’s foster mom has provided answers to these questions:

1)    What is your foster dog’s activity level (energetic, playful, likes to fetch or play tug, mild-mannered, quiet, etc.)?

Josie is a people-loving dog.  She wants to please and make her people happy at all times.   She has a lot of energy, but also takes her cues from what her people are doing.   She is a little skittish at new things but is wicked smart and learns about things quickly.  She likes to play and chase and tug.

2)    Is he/she reliably housebroken?  If no, what’s the problem?

Josie is perfectly housebroken and can go for long times without needing to be let out.  She has had no accidents with us and has been fine in her crate overnight – even on my early bedtime nights!

3)     What obedience commands does the dog seem to know and follow?

Josie has definitely been trained.  She is great to walk on a leash.  She will sit at the drop of a hat.  She knows “down” and “come” well also.  We have been working on “off” and “stay”, but those two are a tad harder for her because she cannot show her people love as well with those.

4)     How is your foster dog with other dogs?

Josie is great with our older dog.  She is very attuned to personalities and boundaries.  While she would love to romp and play, she is great at reading the room and not engaging when our old girl is not in the mood.  Josie has met our neighbors’ and friends’ dogs and loves everyone.

5)     How is he/she with cats?

No cats here to know how Josie would be with them.

6)     How is he/she with children?

Josie loves my teenage kids, she and my son love to run around the yard or play in the house.   Our neighbor has a little 2 year old and Josie is very sweet around her, but they have not been inside together.

7)     How is your foster dog on a leash?

Josie is great on the leash.  We are not big on heel in this house, and her attentiveness to us and her frequent check-ins are so endearing.  She is also great at sitting when other dogs approach even though most of the time we just keep walking past and she is great at that too.

8      How does he/she ride in the car (getting in and out, while traveling)?

Josie is a tad reluctant to get in the car, and does some heavy panting at first, but she will lay down and survive the trip.  I would not say car rides are in her top 5 list of activities.  She does not get carsick, though – so that is a bonus.

9)     How is he/she in a crate?

Josie does not love to get into her crate, but once she resigns herself that it is happening, she ambles in quietly.  She does really well once she is in.   She does not whine or fuss to get out.  I sometimes leave her with a kong and peanut butter, but she is fine with or without.  She sleeps in the crate overnight and does not make a peep.

10)  What does your foster dog seem to enjoy/like most?

Josie likes being with people the most.  We had a few friends over to watch football on our back porch and she loved going from person to person and getting head scratches from everyone.  She is the sweetest girl and just wants lots of love.

11)  What negative behaviors have you observed (e.g. separation anxiety, begging, jumping)?

Josie tends to be a heavy panter when she feels nervous.  It has slowed down a lot since she has been with us, but her panting and heavy breathing can be a lot.  She still jumps up when you first greet her, but we have been working on that.  Josie loves to put her front paws on the counter to see what is happening, but will hop down quickly.  Josie also craves a lot of attention, good or bad.  If you ignore her for too long, she will joyfully trot off to find a possession of yours – be it sock, shoe, t-shirt or koozie – and then prance back with her treasure and force you to give her attention.  We have been working with her to pick dog toys, but she is smart enough to know the difference.

12)  How does your foster dog react to thunderstorms, fireworks, loud noises?

Josie is not a fan of hammering or demo in an upstairs bathroom at all.  She was okay during a big thunderstorm we had, but the vacuum and hairdryer are clearly evil machines out to harm the world and she is on high alert when they are in use.   Loud bangs or traffic noises startle her, but once she sees how the people react – she calms back down quickly.

13)  What else can you share about your foster dog that would be helpful in our search for his/her forever home?

Josie does the very best the more time she can spend with people.  The days I do not have to leave the house for meetings and appointments she is much happier and calmer.  As I type this she is asleep at my feet with my other dog.  Josie loves to snuggle and be as close as possible for a s long as possible.   She is really the sweetest girl and deserves so much love and attention.  For the first three days Josie heavily panted the whole time – all day.  It was so sad, but that does go away once she feels more comfortable. She really needs someone who is around the house most of the time if possible.

14)  Do you think your foster dog needs to be in a home with other dogs?

I think Josie is great in a house with other dogs and would probably be just as great in a house without other dogs if her people are there a lot.  While she loves dogs, she really is more interested in what the people are doing.

15)Please share any cute things your foster does, or any funny stories!

Josie is a tall girl and walks with a very charming goofy gait, like she is super excited to go see everything.  She loves giving kisses and really loves to prance around with stolen contraband or show off her new found soft chew toy.  She is the sweetest girl.